VERY sore chin, please help

Hi everyone,

I'm just looking for info if possible and wondering if anyone else has/is experiencing the same.

For the last 2 months or so Charlie has been very sensitive around his face and he seemed to be frantically scratching his ears all the time. We took him to the vet and the vet said he had an ear infection so he gave us some drops. We finished the course and things seemed to ease for a while but it wasn't long until he was scratching almost non stop.

We took him back to the vet and he diagnosed another ear infection. He has stopped the scratching now but his face is SO sensitive, he rubs i with his 2 front paws and yelps in pain. It's so upsetting to see him in pain.

We had him with the vet 3 weeks ago and the vet said that Cavaliers are prone to blisters under the chin so he gave us a course of antibiotics. We finished the course but nothing had changed. We saw the vet again and the vet said it was dermatitis (?) and prescribed stronger antibiotics. We finished that course but Charlie is STILL the same, now the vet has given us a pain killer that we need to squirt into his mouth through a syringe. We've been giving him that for almost a week but he's still the same.

He seems to have alot of redness under his bottom lip, it looks a bit raw. We thought at the beginning that it might of been SM but the vet said it's not. I hate to think that he's dosed up on painkillers etc and nothing is working. Does anyone have any ideas what it could be? He's only 16 months old and is full of beans and very happy apart from the pains in his chin.

Any ideas / advice would be appreciated

Your vet cannot know whether a dog has SM just by looking at him!

You need to talk to another vet about syringomyelia, I think, if they are trying other approaches and nothing is working and you are seeing these symptoms.

See www.smcavalier.com

There's also a lot of info here and I have posted some videos in the SM forum section on this board.

If you are in Dublin, I recommend seeing Fintan at Anicare in Blanchardstown (www.anicare.ie) as he is familiar with considering SM as a diagnosis.

PS I have NEVER heard that cavaliers are prone to chin blisters! I'd also recommend printing out the print-out sheets at smcavalier.com and giving them to your current vet and note there was an article in the Irish Vet Journal about a year ago on the high incidence of SM in cavaliers.

Whatever this is I'd certainly wither get a second opinion or see a specialist at UCD of nothing else seems to be causing this. Scratching can come and go with SM by the way so I'd really want a careful work-up to consider all possibilities. Hope you can figure this out as it sounds odd... especially for pain to be associated with whatever is going on.

Thanks for the info Karlin, i'll check that out.

Our vet said that by feeling Charlies skull and spine he can rule out SM ?? I'm feeling that he's clueless about things now!!

No, he can't. A neurologist as a specialist might get some indication of whether this MIGHT indicate SM as well as doing other clinical tests, but it is not possible to diagnose in this way (or a lot of pet owners would be a lot happier as would breeders, who would no longer need to MRI! I wish it were so easy. Not all affected dogs would show pain in the back or neck area).

I hope one way or another you can rule things in or out. Let us know what Fintan thinks.

You may want to check for glue ear as well. I hear the symptoms are similar and the pain can be localized to the face. It is impossible to test for SM by feeling the scull, you'd need an MRI to diagnose. I would have both tests done the same day, as they both need general anesthesia. As my dog has SM I hope it's something else, but it's better to know and treat it.

Feel free to PM me if you need to talk.

Jen and Ilsa

Thanks girls. I'll contact Fintan and let you know.

xx

He may have allergies, possibly a food allergy. Scratching until rawness could be caused by this.

You could also look into demodex mange. My neighbor's dog had sores under his chin from it and was very itchy and miserable.

Definitely need to see another vet though.

Another possibility is lip fold dermatitis -pyoderma ( sp) . Soreness starts in the creases of the bottom lip below the canine teeth. In some dogs the creases are too deep and become a haven for debris and bacteria. Daily cleaning with very dilute hibiscrub and a smear of sudacrem will help but often a Vets visit for stronger medication is needed.
Hope you can get to the bottom of Charlies problems soon.
Good Luck

It also sounds like it could be Pyoderma, a skin infection. Geordie had a slight case if it once around his lower lip folds and chin. It requires treatment and is treatable with prescription Malaseb Pledgets, little medicated wipes.

Also, make sure your dog's water and food bowls are stainless steel or ceramic, and wash them daily.

You've got a good range of things to ask about now and hopefully get some answers back.

Oh, Evelyn must have posted as I was writing my post. Sorry!

No problem ,I was interested to hear what you had used for pyoderma. I will give it a try.
Thanks

Abbey was red under her chin and even a little thin of fur. She was tested for mange which was negative of course. The reason for her redness was her being so wet under their from licking her paws etc. You didn't mention licking though--you just mentioned scratching etc. Just an idea.

I hope you get the problem sorted soon. I'd definitely seek an opinion from another vet. One familiar with SM, as Karlin suggested would be best just in case you are dealing with that.